OWENSBORO, Ky. (9/26/13) – Green River Area Development District (GRADD) and Internet service provider Q-Wireless conducted a comprehensive survey of the 3,400-plus ConnectGRADD, Inc. (CGI) regional broadband subscribers this summer.

The results showed the majority of customers to be satisfied with their service. More than 80 percent said that they would recommend ConnectGRADD to a friend, and 86 percent of respondents rated their Internet connection as reliable.

Over 55 percent of residential subscribers reported using ConnectGRADD to access online education/training courses, and nearly 14 percent utilized their connection for home-based business activity—results that pleased Webster County judge/executive Jim Townsend, who serves as CGI chairman.

“ConnectGRADD was conceived to level the playing field for our rural residents,” said Townsend. “And it is gratifying to see it providing new opportunities for both education and economic development.”

As an incentive to complete the survey, three random respondents were selected to receive 12 months of free basic service.

The ConnectGRADD, Inc. regional broadband initiative—one of the first of its kind in the nation—was launched in 2007. It represents a unique partnership between Q-Wireless, GRADD, and the region’s seven county fiscal courts (Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union and Webster) to provide affordable, high-speed Internet access to rural residents.

The CGI network currently consists of 58 transmission towers across the region. Recent tower upgrades have increased available download speeds to 6 Mbps in parts of Daviess, McLean, Ohio and Webster counties.